Integrated Arts

Made Easy

All ArtsAround programs provide integrated, teacher friendly lessons, weaving cross-curricular subject areas into life, with fun, engaging topics. A strong sense of social justice along with life issues are featured in ArtsAround programs where students begin to understand and value their own self-worth, to respect differences and honour the importance of human rights, guiding them to become responsible citizens.

ArtsAround programs encourage youth to experience active learning and develop a sense of community while searching for meaning in the way the world works. They will begin to appreciate the beauty through the ‘arts around’ them. They will cultivate better attitudes, create a culturally rich, positive school community and celebrate their accomplishments together.

Kinder ArtsAround offers more than 40 lessons over the course of the school year, which includes integration in Music, Dance and Drama, K skills and several literacies. Every lesson has a theme and every theme is a comprehensive, engaging, fun way of providing an integrated digital program that does the planning for you. All you need to do is a little bit of prep - actually very little! What an opportunity!

ArtsAround the World: (ATW) Primary grades (Grades 1, 2 & 3) together discover the world while taking an imaginary trip with an experienced Tour Guide (Teacher-in-role). All Primary grades visit the same country each month so they can share songs, playground games, stories, dramatizations and dances, even speaking a few sentences to each other in the language of each country. Carefully selected short YouTube videos (media literacy) enhance the quick, active pace in every ATW lesson.

Multi-cultural activities abound through 6-7 countries each year for three years. When they leave primary, your students will have visited over 21 countries. It is then they receive their World Traveller Certification in a school community celebration!

This program is for Grades 4-8 students with emphasis in Drama, Music, Dance and Literacies: Media, Social, Emotional, Physical and Cultural.

ArtsAround deals with real life issues and challenges, adventures and conflicts: all in a joyous, active way. Everything is digitally ready for any Teacher. No planning required except a bit of prep. This is integration into the curriculum at its best! Due to so many split grades, this is a two year program with new exciting lessons each year (optional).

If the Arts nourish our cultural side, why not learn the daily practices that prepare us for the art of healthy living? That’s why ArtsAround created the Wellness for All digital workshop approach to a balanced lifestyle.

ArtsAround & WFA are both striving for the same outcome which is to support staffs with a way to promote well rounded, happy, fulfilled school communities…starting in Kindergarten. It doesn’t get much better than that folks! ArtsAround + Wellness for All = a dynamic, healthy, fulfilled, balanced, school community that practices the art of well-being! We don’t survive - we thrive!

HWCDSB provided the testing ground for the inception of ArtsAround in 2006 in four classrooms. We have continued to grow with the help of funding from the Ontario Ministry of Education in both School Boards. With the help of Senior Admin support, Arts Integration Teachers (AITs) were created in 2011. Now in 2017, EVERY student in K-8 in HWCDSB is involved in ArtsAround programming! Watch what Teachers have to say...

Join us annually for Sharing Dance Day!

ArtsAround is in partnership with Canada's National Ballet School through Sharing Dance. Sharing Dance is a community outreach initiative offering free dance programs for all Canadians- to get healthy, active and artistically engaged. In support of Sharing Dance, ArtsAround will incorporate learning the Sharing Dance Canada choreography into existing program offerings for schools across Canada. Learn more...

Important Contributors to ArtsAround's success include

Ministry of Education

From 2008-2011 with $1.2 million funding from the Ministry, ArtsAround expanded to selected classrooms in both School Boards.Learn More..